2019 Horse Spending

I wanted to keep track of my horse spending this year. Several other blogs to it, and I was curious. I didn't come up with a budget or anything, but I wanted to see how my spending compared with others out there. And being financially-minded, to see if there were any areas where I could decrease in the future. It was a very atypical year. I moved Mort three times (two barns and then to the property). I bought a new horse. I also bought hay and equipment for the new barn. Essentially, things were pricey. I definitely did not include the actual costs of building fence and stalls etc. But I did include the "things" that I bought for the barn like buckets, rubber mats, hooks, etc. I definitely didn't go overboard on these things (and I also got most of my mats for free), so it didn't hurt too bad. I did not include Blue's price, but I did include the tack that I bought with him. I broke it down into the following categories: Board, supplements, farrier, misc. equipment, vet/dental, lessons/shows, and trailer. Board: $5456.23--$454.69/month This is by far the biggest category. Which makes sense--horses aren't cheap to take care of. They eat a lot. The barn where I was for the first two months of 2019 only charged $275/month. But when we moved to a much better barn it got bumped to $400/month ($410 in the summer for fly spray). Totally worth it obviously. This also includes the $1800 I spent on hay for the two guys this winter. Since they moved, it is where I put the feed and bedding costs. Thankfully, it's gone down tremendously since they're on 24/7 turnout and Blue doesn't eat much. I'm really interested to see how this compares next year with two horses living at home versus boarding one. Supplements: $1055--$87.92/month Mort's supplements changed a good deal this year, but thankfully the budget for them didn't. He went from an ulcer and hoof supplement to joint, ulcer, hindgut, skin and coat, and hoof. He also gets a bug supplement every summer. Mort turned 10 this year and started showing some age in his joints. Adding the supplement (and a stifle injection) seems to have helped this. I was able to keep the costs under control by using a combo supplement for joint, hindgut, skin and coat, and hoof. I also found a very similar ulcer supplement for significantly less money. I thought about moving him to just ulcer, hoof, and joint after he moved to save some money but I haven't pulled the trigger on that at this point. Blue is currently not on anything--we'll see if that changes next year. Farrier: $965--$80.42/month This really isn't too bad compared to a lot of folks out there. Mort has simple shoes on the front only. He is thankfully not too complicated. My cost went down some when we moved barns. I had to go with a new farrier again when he moved home. The new farrier is even less expensive (not why I chose him), but adding Blue still obviously puts us up a bit. Thankfully, two horses is still less than Mort was with the original farrier so I'm still coming out on top. If Blue ever needs shoes, that will go up though, so we'll see what next year brings. Misc. Equip: $1619.51--$134.96/month I admit that this is the one that I was worst at keeping track of. There are definitely a few purchases that I forgot. It was also a very expensive year with building a house, so I kept this spending to the minimum. I bought supplies for the barn, occasional tack, fly spray, etc. This was not the year for pretty new things--maybe next year or the year after. My list of "wants" is only growing. Vet/Dental: $520.10--$43.34/month That's right y'all, be jealous. To be completely honest, I still haven't gotten the bill for Mort's lameness exam and stifle injection from the summer (though I did remind the vet when she came out to do teeth and fall vaccinations). So I imagine this will at least double. But honestly I'm still not mad about it. Spring and fall vaccinations, floats for both boys, a spring fecal exam, and dewormer throughout the year. Thank goodness for healthy horses and no major accidents. Lessons/Shows: $997.50--$83.13/month This was another category that was low this year. Not only was I aware of spending money on "extra" things, but the time commitment of building is also ridiculous. So, this year was very slow on this front--only one show and a handful of lessons. I did also cut some from this by braiding at the show. Hopefully I will have more time to spend money here next year. Trailer: $216--$18/month Nothing went wrong with the trailer. All we had to pay for was the annual tire/bearing/check-up. We spent a lot on it last year updating the frame and floor. And there are certainly more updates that we want to make, but who knows when Steven will have time for that! Total: $10,829.34--$902.45/month That's a pretty big number, but it could be worse. We'll see if the money I save (if any) on board next year will be replaced with lessons, shows, and equipment. I'll also try to do an even better job keeping track to get a more accurate picture.

Since the Move

Both boys have settled into their new routines. Blue never seemed phased and Mort was overall pretty decent. He was a little scared and spookier the first week or two, but now he's as calm as he usually is. They both seem totally happy on 24/7 turnout. I did find them cold and wet a time or two at the beginning before they learned to go to the run-in, so now I lock them in the lot if it's going to be nasty. Feeding their hay in there has helped them want to hang out as well. I've been able to ride/lunge Mort 3-4 times each week while I work with Blue about twice. This is better than I was expecting. I was worried about winter weather and the shorter days, but I'm making it work. Of course, this means that some days are a quick 30 minute bareback ride before it gets dark, but I'm still happy with that. Mort seems to be holding his fitness well with all the turnout and I even managed to get Blue to lose a little weight. And, most importantly, both boys seem happy with the arrangement. Mort has been stellar since the move. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like our relationship is even stronger than it was before. He comes out calm and happy (his version of calm) for our rides. He's standing well in the cross ties. He is easy enough to handle that even Steven had no issues taking care of the boys when I was out of town for work. And our rides have just been a blast. I'm having a ton of fun with him. Whether it's me hopping on bareback and walking him in the pasture, or going up to the field and putting in a dressage school, we're really clicking. He's forward but soft and listening. His lateral work has been coming easier and easier (though that haunches-in to the left at the trot is hard still). His transitions are getting stronger and smoother. We may be riding on a slight hill in a 3.5-acre field, but we're killing it. I've got a lesson scheduled this weekend at the indoor where my instructor teaches and I'm really interested to see how it translates. Blue and I are doing well too. He hasn't put a foot wrong (other than stepping on Steven's foot once by accident). He's been pretty steady and easy to deal with. That's about all we did for the first few weeks. I would lunge him or ride him 2-3 times/week. I'd groom him when he got dirty. I'd feed him and give him the occasional treat. We had a good working relationship, but there wasn't a whole lot more. Thankfully, he's started to open up for me more in the last couple weeks. I started playing with some more in-hand work to get creative on getting him worked when it was dark out. And he opened up a bit more for me. Whether it was his version of settling in or it helped him get to know me and my body language a bit more or whatever else, it seems like we know each other better now. I think he probably still has a little more personality to show me when he's ready, but I'm feeling good about where we're headed. Beyond our rides, it just feels great to be the only person for my guys. Even though I still check-in with my horse friends on random decisions, I love being in charge of their daily care and feeding. With me going out twice a day, they get groomed more often than when I was boarding and I monitor every change. I get to just spend more quality time with them and it's the best. Literally every time I feed I just stand there and watch them eat their hay for a few minutes soaking in the peacefulness of it.

Blue

Blue, or Bee B's Blue's Man. Is a 14-year old Rocky Mountain Horse gelding. He was owned by the same woman from 3-13 years of age. Due to financial reasons, she rehomed him to PALS (People and Animal Learning Services, Inc.). PALS is the therapeutic riding center that we leased my old guy, Fred, to while I was in college for his semi-retirement. So I knew they were good people and his old owner was still very involved in his life as well. They were retiring him from being a therapeutic horse after a year for a few reasons. He wasn't a fan of being with so many different people and would occasionally try testing them. Nor was he great with the less able-bodied folks. But, he was still safe and sane which were my goals with my second horse. When I tried him out in late September, I had a blast riding him and never had a moment of feeling unsafe or not being able to trust him. That's big for me, as I almost never trust a horse the first time I ride it. Blue has been trail ridden in several states and been to some big show facilities (including the Kentucky Horse Park. He travels well and settles in quickly. (He travelled like a champ on the six hour drive home.) He's an extremely easy keeper (aka pretty fat right now) and does all of the things that a horse should. I worked did some ground work with him Sunday and lightly lunged him Monday. He was well behaved and definitely does better with a lunge whip. He's very treat motivated and is looking for one at all times. I rode him for the first time at home Wednesday evening and he was a pretty good boy. He definitely wanted to "test" me with being lazy and leaning that shoulder toward the gate, but he was easy to correct and was never actually naughty. I felt good on him and was getting bored riding in the pasture, so I took him to the big field on the hill and he was a good boy out there as well. I see a lot of long walks in his future to try to get him into better shape. We did gait some but I don't feel good doing that for too long of intervals for a while. Short intervals of gaiting and endless walking. If the weather holds, I'm hoping to take him along the county road this weekend sometime. We'll see. So far, I'm happy with my choice and I'm sure he'll only get better as he settles in and gets to know me.